📷 Kelly Abram · CC BY 4.0
📷 Kelly Abram
📷 Ludwig Xu En Muller
IUCN: Least Concern
Aardvark
Orycteropus afer
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassMammalia›OrderTubulidentata›FamilyOrycteropodidae›GenusOrycteropus
About
The aardvark is the sole living member of its entire mammal order, Tubulidentata — its teeth are tiny tubes of dentine with no enamel at all. By night it follows its long sticky tongue into termite mounds, and by day it sleeps in the burrow it dug, which may be several meters long.
Abandoned aardvark burrows are vital real estate: warthogs, hyenas, pythons, and dozens of smaller animals shelter in them, making the aardvark one of Africa’s most important diggers.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands with sandy, diggable soil
🍃Diet Ants and termites, sometimes 50,000 in a single night
📏Size & Weight Head-body 100–130 cm; tail 45–70 cm
•Weight 40–65 kg
⏳Lifespan Around 10–15 years wild; over 20 in care
🗺Range Sub-Saharan Africa, avoiding rainforest and the driest deserts
MammalInsectivore
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands with sandy, diggable soil
🍃Diet Ants and termites, sometimes 50,000 in a single night
📏Size & Weight Head-body 100–130 cm; tail 45–70 cm
•Weight 40–65 kg
⏳Lifespan Around 10–15 years wild; over 20 in care
🗺Range Sub-Saharan Africa, avoiding rainforest and the driest deserts
Photo Credits
#1Kelly Abram · CC BY 4.0
#2Kelly Abram · CC BY 4.0
#3Ludwig Xu En Muller · CC0
Related Species
